中科院古脊椎动物与古人类研究所法籍博士后Romain Amiot及其多国合作者近日在著名学术刊物《地质学》（Geology）2010年第2期发表了题为Oxygen isotope evidence for semi-aquatic habits among spinosaurid theropods的论文，通过氧同位素的分析揭示了属于兽脚类恐龙的棘背龙类具有半水生的生活习性。该研究将同一地层中的棘背龙、陆生动物和半水生动物化石进行比较发现，棘背龙化石中氧的同位素含量与陆生动物存在较大差异，但与同时代的鳄鱼、乌龟相比就比较接近，这说明它们很大一部分时间在水中度过。此外，棘背龙的骨架结构表明，它并不是完全的水生动物。因此研究人员认为，棘背龙是一种半水生动物。这项工作对研究中生代恐龙生态和习性的分化具有重要的意义。
Amiot从2007开始在古脊椎所与周忠和研究员合作进行博士后研究，重点是对中生代脊椎动物的骨骼进行氧、碳同位素的分析，从而恢复生物的习性和古气候。他从事的同位素大量分析工作是在中科院地质与地球物理研究所合作完成的。（生物谷Bioon.com）
生物谷推荐原始出处：
Geology December 2009 v. 37 no. 12 p. 1095-1098 doi: 10.1130/G30393A.1
Oxygen isotope precipitation anomaly in the North Atlantic region during the 8.2 ka event
David Domínguez-Villar1,2,*, Ian J. Fairchild1, Andy Baker1, Xianfeng Wang3, R. Lawrence Edwards3 and Hai Cheng3
1School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, B152TT Birmingham, UK
2Departamento de Geodinámica, Facultad de Ciencias Geológicas, Universidad Complutense, 28040 Madrid, Spain
3Department of Geology and Geophysics, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota 55455, USA
An annual laminated stalagmite from northern Spain recorded two outstanding oxygen isotope (δ18O) pulses during the 8.2 ka event. Most of the oxygen isotope record variability is related to the amount of rainfall, although other factors affect the signal. The lamina thickness record, which is also related to amount of rainfall, does not show any significant anomaly at the time of oxygen isotope spikes. Considering the factors affecting the isotope signal, the two prominent falls in δ18O during the event are interpreted to be caused by the release of large amounts of fresh waters into the North Atlantic. Thus, 18O-depleted ocean surface waters shifted the rainfall δ18O composition for Europe and Greenland. Our precise chronology provides the timing of the outbursts that caused the δ18O anomalies at 8350–8340 and 8221–8211 ± 34 yr B.P., most probably generated by the drainage of proglacial lakes Agassiz and Ojibway. Therefore, in the North Atlantic region δ18O records during the 8.2 ka event trace important hydrological modifications in the ocean, not just local climate. As a consequence, paleoclimate reconstructions from Europe and Greenland using the δ18O proxy that does not take this into account would be overestimating the magnitude of the anomalies during the 8.2 ka event.
